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Fin24 reports that lawyers for SA's largest clothing trade union have tried to discredit an agreement purporting to freeze the group's R300 million loan claim against Sekunjalo Independent Media (SIM), saying the document lacked authorisation and was never properly explained to the union.
The investment arm of the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) has gone to court to compel the media group to pay back the funds, which it says are urgently needed for expenses such as funeral benefits. Sactwu Investment Group (SIG) loaned the media group R150 million in August 2013, which it used to buy Independent Media from its Irish owners. The loan was meant to be paid back in 2020, by which time it would have been worth about R300 million. But SIM, which today owns the company that publishes newspapers such as the Cape Times and The Star, maintains that the union "subordinated" its claim in late 2017 – essentially freezing it in place. It has argued it will only be liable to repay the loan claim when its assets exceed its liabilities. And as its liabilities still exceed its assets, it does not need to pay anything back. Lawyers for SIG have spent the past week trying to prove to the Western Cape High Court that the subordination agreement was never properly executed. But, SIM has denied misleading the union, saying the terms of the subordination agreement were clear. The case has been adjourned for three weeks for the parties to again swap pleadings. It will resume on 26 September.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Jan Cronje at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
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